Before August 1, 2005, according to Minnesota state law, Great Horned Owls were considered an "unprotected bird," right along with European Starlings and House Sparrows.
The following was excerpted directly from Minnesota's Game and Fish laws:
97A.015 Definitions.
Subd. 52. Unprotected birds. "Unprotected birds" means English sparrow, blackbird, starling, magpie, cormorant, common pigeon, chukar partridge, quail other than bob-white quail, mute swan, and great horned owl.
97B.705 Restrictions on trapping birds. (a) Except as provided in this section, a person may not take a bird with a steel jaw leg-hold trap mounted on a pole, post, tree stump, or other perch more than three feet above the ground. (b) A person that has a permit to take great horned owls issued under United States Code, title 16, section 704, may trap great horned owls from April 1 to October 15 if the person has a game farm license or is the owner or operator of a poultry farm. The trap must be a padded jaw trap mounted at a height so that the trapped owl may rest on the ground. The trap must be tended at least twice daily. Uninjured birds shall be released alive and injured birds shall receive appropriate veterinary treatment.
These laws are in conflict with federal laws which protect ALL species of owls. According to 50 CFR 10.13, Great Horned Owls are defined as a migratory bird protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. According to 50 CFR 21.11,
"No person shall take, possess, import, export, transport, sell, purchase, barter, or offer for sale, purchase or barter any migratory bird, or the parts, nests, or eggs of such bird except as may be permitted under the terms of a valid permit issued pursuant to the provisions of this part and part 13, or as permitted by regulations in this part of part 20 (the hunting regulations.)"
50 CFR 21.41 deals with the issuance of federal depredation permits. To get a depredation permit for a Great Horned Owl (if you have one that's eating your chickens, for example), an individual must first contact the Department of Agriculture. The Department then makes sure all non-lethal methods of control have been tried and failed or are not practical in the situation, and if the depredation is severe enough to warrant the issuance of a depredation permit. If the Department considers a permit necessary, a recommendation is made to the Migratory Bird Permit Office, who issues the actual permit. Extremely few of these permits are issued. From my conversations with personnel at the Migratory Bird Permit Office, it doesn't sound like they necessarily follow Minnesota's statues for dates or methods of control.
So why does this matter?
1. The conflicting laws created much confusion. I've talked to several people who were certain that is was legal to shoot Great Horned Owls. And they do get shot.
2. This issue came to a head for us when a few people were threatening to shoot Alice, the Great Horned Owl who works with me at the Houston Nature Center. I contacted the local conservation officer but was told that since Great Horned Owls are specifically NOT protected by state law, there was nothing he could do.
3. Minnesota didn't keep records of Great Horned Owls used in educational programs, the number of programs they give, or all the other information they collect on every other species of owl.
4. Since when can a state have a law that's less restrictive than a federal law?
5. What other species can ONLY be trapped during the season they are raising their young?
6. Minnesota may have been the only state in the country (or one of only a very few) that specifically exempted Great Horned Owls from legal protection.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much work would it create to remove Great Horned Owls from the unprotected birds list?
Very little. The Migratory Bird Permit Office was asked how many Great Horned Owl permits are currently in effect in Minnesota that the state would then need to also permit. There were only 16 total, and the person in charge of these permits for Minnesota is not opposed to the relatively small amount work involved in issuing the necessary permits.
What about the few people who do have valid depredation permits, or people who may need to get them in the future?
There would be no change, since the Migratory Bird Permit Office handles these now and would continue to handle them. For some excellent information about protecting poultry from Great Horned Owls, click here.
Would there be double penalties for people who kill Great Horned Owls if they're removed from Minnesota's unprotected bird list?
Great Horned Owls would just fall into the same category as all other hawks and owls. Anyone caught killing a Great Horned Owl without a permit would be prosecuted the same as someone who kills a Red-tailed Hawk. From what I understand of past cases, usually just the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service prosecutes.
Getting the law changed....
On January 24, 2005, Rep. Ray Cox introduced bill HR0419, co-authored by Rep. Tom Hackbarth and Rep. Denny McNamara. This bill would remove Great Horned Owls from Minnesota's unprotected birds list.
On January 31, 2005, Senator Tom Neuville introduced SF0628, co-authored by Sen. John Marty, Sen Michael Jungbauer, and Sen. Becky Lourey. This bill has the same wording as HR0419 and reads as follows:
S.F. No. 628, as introduced 84th Legislative Session (2005-2006) Posted on Jan 28, 2005
1.1 A bill for an act
1.2 relating to game and fish; modifying protection status
1.3 of great horned owls; amending Minnesota Statutes
1.4 2004, section 97A.015, subdivision 52.
1.5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.6 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 97A.015,
1.7 subdivision 52, is amended to read:
1.8 Subd. 52. [UNPROTECTED BIRDS.] "Unprotected birds" means
1.9 English sparrow, blackbird, starling, magpie, cormorant, common
1.10 pigeon, chukar partridge, quail other than bob-white quail, and
1.11 mute swan1 , and great horned owl.
Representative Cox invited Alice and me to testify before the House Natural Resources Policy Committee on March 17, 2005 regarding this bill, which we more than happily did. There didn't seem to be any opposition, as Rep. Cox had really done his homework and already contacted representatives of the timber and agriculture industries. An amendment was added to the bill that clarifies that no state depredation permit is necessary when a federal depredation permit is issued. (Some states also require a state depredation permit, but some don't.)
To see photos of our testimony and read Rep. Cox's weblog account of our visit, go to www.raycox.net. He posted the information on March 18.
To see a newspaper article about our visit to the capitol, click here.
Below is the article that appeared in the Houston Banner, used with permission.
Alice and I were asked to testify before the Senate Environment committee on April 6. Again, Alice was well received, and the committee recommended the bill to pass. Click here to see a photo of our testimony.
On May 9, 2005 the House of Representatives voted on HF419, the bill to remove Great Horned Owls from the "unprotected birds" list. It passed UNANIMOUSLY 134-0! Now it's on to the Senate for a vote.... Click here for the short announcement of the vote in the House Session Daily.
On May 20, 2005, the Senate voted 62-0 to pass this bill. I didn't think bills ever passed unanimously!
On May 27, 2005, the Governor signed this bill into law.
The law took effect on August 1, 2005. Now that Great Horned Owls are protected by state law in Minnesota, a special purpose permit is needed to possess Alice. We went up to the DNR central offices in St. Paul on August 1 to receive the permit in person. Special Purpose Permit #1 was issued by DNR Information Officer Nancy Huonder, mounted on a plaque, and presented to us by the Director of the Division of Ecological Services, Lee Pfannmuller. To round out the day, we did a phone interview with Minnesota Public Radio, a TV interview on WCCO TV, and the St. Paul Pioneer Press sent a photographer to take pictures of the permit presentation.
A special thanks goes to Nancy Huonder for all her had work on the DNR end of things and for the time she'll need to spend issuing permits for Great Horned Owls in Minnesota. There is no charge for these permits in Minnesota, so be sure to contribute to the Non-Game Wildlife checkoff on your Minnesota tax forms to help support her work.
